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Pitt Rivers Museum

1927.84.60

Warrior's ivory armlet. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 19/10/2005]


1927.84.60

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Warrior's ivory armlet. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 19/10/2005]
Long description
Warrior's ivory armlet. [El.B 'DCF 2004-2006 What's Upstairs?' 19/10/2005] An armlet which is not just worn by warriors but by men in general. Made by men for men, worn above the elbow. The material is hard heel, hoof of an elephant? Heel,bone? Now it would be made of plastic and decorated with beads. [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 17/3/2021]
Cultural groups
Maasai
Person
Field collector William Ernest Taylor
Field collector Church Missionary Society
PRM source Catherine Taylor
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1890
Date collected
1882 - 1890
Acquisition information
Purchased: 1927
Materials and processes
Material Animal Bone, Material Animal Hoof, Process Carved
Dimensions
Diameter: max 105 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1927.84.60
Research and responses

'An armlet which is not just worn by warriors but by men in general. Made by men for men, worn above the elbow. The material is hard heel, hoof of an elephant? Heel,bone? Now it would be made of plastic and decorated with beads.' The information used to describe this object has been reviewed through a process of consultation with Maasai representatives and community elders as part of The Maasai Living Cultures Project. Living Cultures started in 2017 and is a partnership between Maasai representatives from Tanzania and Kenya, the Pitt Rivers Museum and InsightShare, an Oxford-based NGO. The project is working to represent the history and narratives behind artefacts held in museum collections. Over the course of three years (2017, 2018, 2020) Maasai delegates have visited the museum to discuss how their culture is represented and how the Museum speaks about Maasai communities in its displays, databases, and education programmes.  [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 16/3/2021]

Search terms: Ornament, Status, Arm Ornament